Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis

String Octet Concerto: SINGULARITY

for string octet & orchestra (2018)
26 minutes

2(2 picc).2(corA).2(bcl).2(cbsn) / 4.2.3(2=b.tbn/3=cb.tbn).0 / timp.+2perc. / hpsd / strings / concertante string octet

Movements
I. Emergence
II. Pattern Recognition
III. Automaton
IV. Simulacrum
V. Uncanny Valley
VI. Deus Ex Machina
VII. Turing Test
VIII. Ghost in the Machine
IX. Code Appendix


String Octet (concertante, one to a part; amplified): standard double string quartet, or the 3D-printed instruments
developed by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra as part of its 3D StringTheory project.

Commissioned by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.

Send an inquiry through the Contact page.

Perusal score

click here to view perusal score online

String Octet Concerto: SINGULARITY (2018)
I. Emergence
II. Pattern Recognition
III. Automaton
IV. Simulacrum
V. Uncanny Valley
VI. Deus Ex Machina
VII. Turing Test
VIII. Ghost in the Machine
IX. Code Appendix


The technological singularity (also, simply, the singularity) is the hypothesis that the invention of artificial superintelligence (ASI) will abruptly trigger runaway technological growth, resulting in unfathomable changes to human civilization. According to this hypothesis, an upgradable intelligent agent (such as a computer running software-based artificial general intelligence) would enter a "runaway reaction" of self-improvement cycles, with each new and more intelligent generation appearing more and more rapidly, causing an intelligence explosion and resulting in a powerful superintelligence that would, qualitatively, far surpass all human intelligence.
—Wikipedia

“Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilization. Or the worst. We just don't know. So we cannot know if we will be infinitely helped by AI, or ignored by it and side-lined, or conceivably destroyed by it.”
—Stephen Hawking

When I was first approached by the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra with the idea of creating a new orchestral work that would feature as-yet-nonexistent 3D-printed instruments, I was mystified – and deeply curious. What would they sound like? In what ways would they be better or worse than our existing instruments, honed by centuries of expert craftsmanship and natural materials?

The very thought of pitting these synthetic analogues against their once-organic counterparts found resonance with my preoccupation with the ethics of technology – and in the literature (fiction or non-) that explores the topic. The possible eventual emergence of artificial superintelligence has long been a source of great concern amongst writers of speculative fiction and, more recently, amongst the leading scientific, technological, and philosophical minds of our generation.

Singularity is a musical exploration of that line of inquiry. Somewhere between a concerto (or sinfonia concertante) and an instrumental sci-fi oratorio, the work positions the soloist group wielding 3D-printed instruments as the surrogate for machine learning – the synthetic – while the orchestra surrounding them fills in for humanity – the organic. As the artificial entity learns and grows increasingly towards sentience, the music asks itself: what is the end run? Will this lead to utopia or to a darker alternative?

The piece is in nine movements. Though they run into each other in a continuous stream, my hope is that their individual titles will provide the listener with guide posts for navigating the work’s narrative.

My deep gratitude to Alain Trudel, the soloists, the OSO, luthier Charline Dequincey, Creadditive designer Laurent Lacombe, Winnipeg’s Industrial Technology Centre, and the Canada Council for the Arts for a very exciting and artistically satisfying journey.

—HS | www.hstafylakis.com